The Pursuit by Johanna Lindsey Read Free Book Online Page B

perfect understanding. At six foot four, he’d found himself the tallest in the crowd more than once and was never quite comfortable with it either. Which was one reason hehadn’t minded losing his burr. Since he was taller than most his age even as a child, the height and accent together had accounted for quite a few embarrassing moments after he’d first moved to England. Children, after all, were quick to make fun of “outsiders,” which he’d been deemed for many a year—until he stopped sounding like one.
    He jumped in now with both feet, heart in hand. “May I have your permission, then, to court Melissa?”
    “I have no objections tae ye courting m’lass, nor tae her marrying ye, for that matter, if she finds ye as much tae her liking as ye’ve found her. Her happiness is all her mother and I are concerned wi’. Though we hoped she’d marry closer tae home, there’ve been no offers forthcoming so far.”
    Lincoln smiled hearing that. “May I see her? I won’t mention marriage to her—yet.”
    Lachlan sighed. “I’m afraid ye’ve missed her this visit. She returned home this morn, but as quickly was dragged off by her mother for some last-minute shopping afore she leaves for London tomorrow.”
    “She’s going to London?”
    “Aye, she’s tae have a season there. We fully expect her tae be coming home affianced. So any courting ye mean tae do will need tae be done there. Will that pose any problem for ye?”
    “On the contrary, that actually will be much more convenient, since I’ve been elected to chaperon my cousin this season in London as well.
    “Excellent. I wish ye luck then, lad, no’ that I think ye’ll be needing it.”

Eight
    M ELISSA was disappointed that she’d missed seeing Lincoln Burnett when he stopped by Kregora the day before she departed for London, but she didn’t really have time to let it bother her too long, especially after her father assured her that she’d be seeing the viscount Cambury—he’d stressed the title with a wink—in London soon enough.
    She had meant to grill her father about his conversation with Lincoln, but with all the last preparations before the trip, she never got around to it. Not that it mattered that much after his assurance that Lincoln would be partaking of the season as well, and she’d much prefer to be asking him directly, everything she’d like to know about him.
    It was an uneventful trip to England—not her first, but it was her youngest uncle’s first, so he was actually more interested in the getting-therepart of it than she was. She loved her uncles, all of them, but Ian Six, the youngest of the sixteen brothers and last to be named Ian, was a good friend as well, so she’d been delighted when it was decided that he’d be her escort there.
    Having turned twenty-six only a few months ago, Ian was as tall as his brothers, all of whom ranged in height from six to six and a half feet. He was one of the few who didn’t have the dark gold hair and light green eyes that most of them sported, same as their father. His hair was a brownish red, more on the red side but not so bright as some, and his eyes were a soft azure blue. He also had a wealth of freckles—inherited, like his hair and eyes, from his mother—which gave him a boyish look that made him seem even younger than he was. He was also one of the more playful of his brothers, and teasing, though he took his duty as her escort and confidant most seriously.
    She’d talked Ian’s ear off about Lincoln for nearly the entire trip, so even he was looking forward to meeting the chap who’d snagged her interest so thoroughly. Of course, he also cautioned a few times that she not ignore the other gentlemen she’d be meeting, wanting her to have as wide a selection as possible to choose from in the end. But then Ian was one of her uncles who was feeling a bit guilty that he’d been partly to blame for ruining her prospects at home, so he intended to withhold his own